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Rodolfo Borrell
Rodolfo Borrell is a Spanish youth coach, currently the head coach of the Liverpool Reserve team. He has previously had a two-year spell as head coach of the Liverpool under 18s. Under 18s Coach In July 2009, Liverpool agreed a deal to bring in renowned Barcelona youth coaches Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura to the club. First team coach Rafael Benitez made it a priority of his to improve the club's academy, which hadn't provided the first team with a key player since Steven Gerrard. Borrell agreed a deal to take control of the under 18s from Hughie McAuley. During Borrell's tenure, there was a notable improvement in the under 18's standing in the Premier Academy League and FA Youth Cup. In his first season in charge, the team finished 4th as part of a congested mid-table in Premier Academy League Group C, and finished only in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup, being knocked out by Watford. However, during his second season in charge, he led the team to an impressive 2nd placed finish in the Premier Academy League, losing out to Champions Everton by a single point. He also led the team to the quarter-finals in the Youth Cup, being knocked out after a hard-fought tie with Manchester United. Liverpool's Academy began to garner a great deal of attention during this season, and many Liverpool fans became excited at the talents being developed under Borrell's charge, most notably Raheem Sterling, Jon Flanagan, Jack Robinson and Adam Morgan, who Borrell has helped transform from an unremarkable forward into a prolific goalscorer. Borrell has also placed a great deal of faith in Conor Coady, naming him under 18s captain during both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 Under-18s seasons. Reserve Team Coach In May 2011, as part of an extensive restructuring of the academy, Borrell was promoted to reserve team coach, whilst Mike Marsh replaced Borrell as coach of the under 18s. It is likely that a key factor in the club's decision to promote Borrell was to allow him to continue to oversee the development of the crop of youngsters he has coached at under-18 level, most of whom are now too old for the side and play more regularly for the reserves in the 2011-12 season. Of his new role, Borrell said: "It's a great honour for me. The club have shown they have great confidence in my ability and I am happy. It is a job that means my name will sit forever alongside the likes of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Roy Evans, Phil Thompson and Sammy Lee. They are big names in Liverpool's history and it is also an important role because it is the final step in the Academy. The players need to be ready if they are to make the move into the first-team set-up and I am going to fight for that." In addition to his role as reserve team manager, Borrell coached the under-19 side that took part in the inaugral 2011-12 NextGen Series. Most of the squad that played in this competition were the reserve team players that Borrell had also coached during his time with the under-18s. Coaching Stats Under-18s Reserves As of 31 January 2012 Borrell